So much has been going on since I last wrote I'm not really sure where to start. Classes are going well, they're just really long- 1 and a half to 2 hours each. Wolof is going a mile a minute and when the words are "jangkat laa" and "naka wa ker gaa"-- it's difficult to keep up. It's still fun though! And also important since our village stay families will only speak it. That should be interesting. As excited as we all are for the village stays, it's hard to imagine living in a hut with no running or electricity ever and sleeping outside, basically. We're pretty much uncomfortable all the time so it will definitely be a test of patience and resilience to push ourselves even further. I am not trying to complain but it is a huge challenge living here and it's nothing like we've ever experienced before. Maybe it's just hitting us more now that we're on a regular schedule and things are less new to us than they were a week ago when we could be distracted more easily. There's no distracting us now though, we're all hot and sweaty and dirty. At least we're all hot and sweaty and dirty together though! It's okay, we're doing fine, it's just becoming more real. The funny thing is that all the Senegalese complain all the time about how hot it is so it's kind of a bonding issue. One of the first conversations that I have with my host mom every single day is: "It's very hot today." "Yes it is very hot." "It's too hot." "Yes it is always too hot." "Oh the heat!" "Yes, I agree."
This week we were working on art projects that we chose, I was part of the Batik group. Batik is a type of fabric dying where you use wax to create a design or pattern on the fabric and then dip it in dye, and the parts that were covered in wax remain the original color. It's a long, complicated process in which you can do layers to create different colors. It's so pretty and we all got to make a few different items. Some of them look beautiful and some of them, not so beautiful. My favorite one that I made was a Tshirt with the shape of africa on the front with a peace sign in the middle, and then the different Senegalese colors. It looks pretty good! I'm SO glad I am on an arts and culture program because it is SO FUN and so hands on and we are learning so much about the culture here. SIT has an overarching focus of experiential learning, which is exactly what you need while studying abroad- especially in a developing country (I think). The best part is that we get to work with local Senegalese artists, professors, and other experts all from Dakar. It's such a special opportunity and everyone is so good at what they do. I became pretty good friends with some of the Batik guys from this week. Everyone is so friendly here and willing to lend a hand, it's so different from the States!
The other day we went to a museum of African artifacts which was pretty interesting. Our tour was in French and then we had to chose an object to present about in our French class. It was funny because during our tour, our tour guide's cell rang and she picked it up in the middle of our tour! Haha! So Senegal. Anything goes, it's great.
Okay sorry if none of that was interesting, everything is meshing together in my mind because too much is happening. I'll try to write things down so I can remember them. Keep the emails coming to me! I love hearing about what's going on in people's lives!
